SWIP reveals pensions saving is inadequate

The life and pensions firm’s annual pensions report revealed 22pc of women are non-savers compared to 15pc of men – but said this gap was narrowing.

It also found 23pc of parents with a child under five and 23pc of self-employed people were non-savers.

Scottish Widow head of pensions market development Ian Naismith said: "Year on year it is the same groups that emerge as pensions underdogs, in particular women lose out under the current pensions system and while the gender gap is slowly starting to narrow there are still measures that women need to take to ensure they are preparing adequately for their retirement."

Some 59pc of people claimed they were unable to save anymore in the next 12 months. And of those people without a private pension, 44pc believed they would never contribute to one.

Naismith added: "While pensions savings are slowly starting to rise, there is still the real worry that in the current economic environment the nation is not doing enough to prepare for retirement."

People said that they believe that they would need a household income of approximately £40,000 per year to feel comfortable – and contribute an adequate amount into a pension.

This has risen by 11pc since the 2007 survey when the figure was just approximately £36,000 per annum.